Provide for family credit and disability working allowance to be known, respectively, as working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit; and to make further provision with respect to those credits, including provision for the transfer of functions relating to them.

BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

Main provisions

Certain benefits to be known as tax credits.

1. - (1) Family credit and disability working allowance shall be known, respectively, as working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit.

3. - (1) Any property, rights and liabilities to which the Secretary of State or the Department is entitled or subject immediately before the commencement of this section in connection with functions transferred to the Treasury by section 2(1) above shall be transferred to the Treasury.

(2) Any property, rights and liabilities to which the Secretary of State or the Department is entitled or subject immediately before the commencement of this section in connection with functions transferred to the Board or an officer of the Board by section 2(1) shall be transferred to the Board.

(3) The property, rights and liabilities transferred by subsections (1) and (2) above do not include any right or liability in respect of which proceedings are commenced before the commencement of this section.

(4) Her Majesty may by Order in Council make such provision for the transfer to Her Majesty's Home Civil Service of persons employed in the Northern Ireland Civil Service as appears to Her Majesty to be expedient.

(5) A statutory instrument containing an Order in Council under this section shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Special provision for certain contracts.

4. - (1) This section applies to-

(a) any contract for the supply of goods or services to the Secretary of State or the Department which relates partly to functions transferred to the Board by section 2(1) above ("transferred functions") and partly to functions retained by the Secretary of State or the Department ("retained functions"); and

(b) any contract for the supply of goods or services to the Secretary of State or the Department which relates only to transferred functions or only to retained functions, but whose terms are wholly or partly determined in accordance with a contract falling within paragraph (a) above.

(2) Section 3 above shall not apply in relation to any contract to which this section applies.

(3) In any contract to which this section applies any term restricting the provision of goods or services under the contract to the Secretary of State or the Department shall be treated as referring also to the Board, in connection with transferred functions.

(4) The reference to the Secretary of State in subsection (3) above includes a reference to the Department of Social Security.

Administration and enforcement

General functions of Board.

5. - (1) Working families' tax credit and disabled person's tax credit shall be under the care and management of the Board.

(2) Section 10 of the Exchequer and Audit Departments Act 1866 (gross revenues to be paid to Exchequer) shall be construed as allowing the Board to deduct payments for or in respect of tax credit before causing the gross revenues of their department to be paid to the accounts mentioned in that section.

(3) For the purposes of the Inland Revenue Regulation Act 1890, everything that relates to tax credit shall be taken to relate to inland revenue; and the expressions "in relation to inland revenue", "Collector of Inland Revenue" and "Officer of Inland Revenue" shall be construed accordingly.

(4) The reference in section 4(1) of that Act (appointment of collectors, officers and other persons) to collecting, receiving, managing and accounting for inland revenue shall be taken to include a reference to paying and managing tax credit.

(5) The duties of the Board under section 13 of that Act (Board to keep accounts) shall include a duty to set forth in the accounts mentioned in that section-

(a) the amounts of the several payments made by them of or in respect of tax credit;

(b) the amounts of the expenses of paying and managing tax credit; and

(c) the amounts received by them in respect of tax credit,

distinguishing in each case between amounts relating to working families' tax credit and amounts relating to disabled person's tax credit.

(6) In any declaration for the purposes of section 6 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 (declarations on taking office), whether made before or after the commencement of this section, the reference to an offence relating to inland revenue shall be taken to include a reference to an offence relating to tax credit.

(7) Section 163(2) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 (sums to be paid out of money provided by Parliament) shall have effect subject to subsection (2) above.